Bublik charges on

The contrast with last year could hardly be greater for Alexander Bublik in Rotterdam Ahoy. In 2025, the Kazakh was knocked out in the first round of the ABN AMRO Open and found himself practicing on the outside courts by Friday. This time though, Bublik (28) has reached the semi-finals after defeating Spain’s Jaume Munar in a gruelling three-setter:  6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3).

The right-handed serving powerhouse had his hands full throughout the match with the resilient Munar. Jokes and playful moments on Centre Court alternated with aces and thunderous passing shots. Ultimately, a third-set tiebreak had to decide the final victor of their intense contest. After a thrilling climax that ended around 12:30 a.m., Bublik finally caught his breath. "I’m tired,” he sighed. "I don’t know why, but I’ve been sleeping very badly this week. It certainly wasn’t my best performance ever, but I’m happy with the way I kept fighting.”

Kazakhstan’s top player has made a remarkable rise in the world rankings. After winning the title in Hong Kong last month, Bublik broke into the world’s top 10 for the first time in his career. "My only goal this year was to reach the top 10. It’s amazing that it happened in the very first tournament week,” an emotional Bublik said afterwards. "If you had told me at the start of my career, or even last April, that I would be standing here as world No. 10, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.”

The first months of 2025 were far from successful for Bublik. He even played a few Challenger events, but after reaching the quarter-finals on the clay of Roland Garros, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Last year, Bublik won four ATP titles on different surfaces, underlining his qualities as an all-round player.

On Saturday evening from 7:30 p.m., a mouth-watering clash awaits between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds: Felix Auger-Aliassime against Alexander Bublik. The Canadian, ranked No. 6 in the ATP rankings, leads their head-to-head record 4-2. A guarantee of top-class tennis.